Twenty state attorneys general sued Wednesday to strike down a federal nursing home staffing mandate that one official called “an attack on senior care.”
The case, filed against the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in federal court in Iowa, represents a new front in the battle against the months-old staffing rule. It was also joined by 19 LeadingAge affiliates.
“Our seniors spend a lifetime investing in our communities,” said Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird, who led the suit along with attorneys general from Kansas and South Carolina. “Now, we need to invest in them by ensuring they have access to the care they need. I am suing to stop the Biden-Harris attack on senior care that will force nursing homes out of business, increase costs for families, and remove access to senior care altogether.”
Also joining the suit are Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, and West Virginia.
The new federal requirements add hourly stipulations for specific nursing roles and mandate 3.48 hours of daily nursing care per patient starting in 2026. Providers have argued the rules will be impossible to meet given ongoing shortages of certified nursing assistants and an even broader national shortage of registered nurses that is expected to persist through at least 2030. Rural states figure to be especially hard hit, which has led to a bipartisan front of resistance to the rule.
“It imposes harmful and unsustainable mandates on our members and nursing homes nationwide,” Steve Bahmer, LeadingAge Southeast president and CEO, said in a statement late Wednesday. “While we share CMS’ goal of ensuring that all nursing home residents receive quality care, we believe that the staffing mandate misses the mark. CMS has overreached its authority with this rule and would place an undue financial burden on states and providers. Our members are dedicated to delivering high-quality care, and this mandate threatens their ability to do so by introducing onerous requirements that jeopardize the very services residents rely on.”
The new suit in the US District Court for Iowa is in addition to a case already working its way through federal court in Texas. The case brought by the American Health Care Association, the Texas Health Care Association and three providers is on an expected timeline, with an initial outcome expected as early as January. LeadingAge national is also a party to that lawsuit.
